London Vision Clinic Activities – ESCRS Vienna 2018

The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, known as ESCRS is an organisation which was founded to ‘promote education and research in the field of implant and refractive surgery and to advance and promote the study and practice of ophthalmology’.

Their annual congress events are attended by over 7,000 ophthalmic professionals from across the globe; this year was the 36th meeting, held from the 22-26 September.

Many clinics have surgeons who attend the event, but the majority of those who attend do not contribute to the programme. Attendees can be involved by submitting study abstracts, presenting papers, delivering lectures, hosting panel and booth discussions or leading courses.

Speaking broadly, there are 3 types of activity which ESCRS members can be involved in:

Society invited sessions

Scientific submissions

Company sponsored sessions

Below is a breakdown of London Vision Clinic’s activity this year in Vienna.

1. Society events

Professor Dan Reinstein received an invite from the International Society of Presbyopia (ISOP) to talk at their day-long event about presbyopia. This was one of the many satellite events organised in the lead up to ESCRS as many key opinion leaders are able to congregate and contribute. Professor Reinstein gave a talk on corneal treatment options for presbyopia.

Another London Vision Clinic surgeon, Mr Alex Day, was heavily involved in planning this of year’s conference as a member of the ESCRS programme committee. He chaired the ESCRS High Ametropia Symposium alongside a panel of esteemed ophthalmic colleagues; Dr Jose Guell, Dr Pablo Artal, Prof Jod Mehta, Prof Oliver Findl, Prof Boris Malyugin, Prof Walter Sekundo, and Prof Jesper Hjortdal. There were 6 talks given at the meeting, rounding up many of the topics covered surrounding high refractive error.

2. Submissions

Paper presentations London Vision Clinic collectively had 7 papers and 1 video paper in the ESCRS programme this year. Papers go through a selection process, with an abstract (a concise 250-word written summary) submitted 6 months in advance. The program committee review all of the submitted abstracts and accept the most relevant and scientifically robust studies, while the others are rejected.

Many clinics and surgeons do not submit papers due to limited time and resources. Due to our focus and commitment to research, we are able to match and often exceed the collective effort of even the largest universities.

Once a paper is approved and presented it is often written up into a scientific paper and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal – the gold standard of scientific publication. London Vision Clinic’s Research Department is on track to publish 20 scientific papers in 2018.

Courses During ESCRS 2018, London Vision Clinic was involved in six instructional courses, running two whilst sitting on the faculty for another four.

‘Therapeutic corneal refractive surgery’ Professor Reinstein, Mr Glenn Carp, and Dr Tim Archer delivered a 2-hour course on ‘Therapeutic corneal refractive surgery’. This highly popular talk is in its 9th year and was supported by a London Vision Clinic-only faculty. The course consistently attracts a large audience and achieves exceptional feedback scores.

‘Therapeutic refractive surgery live: Bring your case’ The younger sister course to this, which was also led by Professor Reinstein, took a more expressive approach. Members of the audience were asked to come along with case examples to be deliberated on by a panel of specialists. This was a very interactive session and delegates are invited on stage to present their case studies for discussion. The session was fittingly closed with a saxophone solo from Professor Reinstein!

The London Vision Clinic team also sat as faculty members on four other courses: Femtosecond laser course, early and qualitative keratoconus diagnosis utilizing modern diagnostics, phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK), and therapeutic refractive surgery.

3. Company events

Zeiss Lunchtime Symposium Professor Reinstein was invited to speak at the Lunchtime Symposium for Zeiss which is their flagship event, usually attended by around 500 people. The faculty was made up from 5 other key opinion leaders; Prof Walter Sekundo, Mr Amir Hamid, Dr Rainer Wiltfang, Dr Detlev Breyer, and Dr Sri Ganesh. Professor Reinstein presented a case showing the advantages to laser treatment over refractive lens exchange for presbyopic patients.

Zeiss 360 Evening This interactive evening provided attendees with an overview of past, current and future Zeiss innovations. Mr Glenn Carp gave two talks: presbyopic corneal treatment options and laser vision correction for all ages. Professor Reinstein presented a case highlighting how PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision lives up to the challenge in even the most visually demanding circumstances (inside a A320 cockpit!).

Booth lectures This year Professor Reinstein participated in three booth sessions. These are an informal approach to providing important information, held at a company’s booth within the exhibition hall where delegates can also see and try the technology. The audience members wear headphones to listen and questions are encouraged.

This year, Professor Reinstein was invited by CSO, to discuss ‘Applications of Epithelial Thickness Mapping’, with the MS39 OCT Scanner. This is one of the many diagnostic tools used for all patients at London Vision Clinic during the comprehensive screening process. It shows the curvature of the cornea, front and back surface elevation, corneal thickness and an epithelial map all in one scan.

Professor Reinstein was also invited to sit on the Zeiss ‘Meet the Experts’ booth panel, where he gave a presentation on patient experience and outcomes with PRESBYOND. Similarly, this is held as an informal lecture, with time for questions from the audience to follow.

Professor Reinstein, Dr Archer, and Mr Carp collectively authored and released The Surgeon’s Guide to SMILE: Small Incision Lenticule Extraction earlier in April this year. This textbook is a thorough and comprehensive guide to performing the ReLEx SMILE procedure. Professor Reinstein introduced the book and gave a short reading, followed by a book signing session.